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---
language: restructured text (RST)
contributors:
- ["DamienVGN", "https://github.com/martin-damien"]
- ["Andre Polykanine", "https://github.com/Oire"]
filename: restructuredtext.rst
---
RST, Restructured Text, is a file format created by the Python community to write documentation. It is part of [Docutils](https://docutils.sourceforge.io/rst.html).
RST is a markup language like HTML but is much more lightweight and easier to read.
## Installation
To use Restructured Text, you will have to install [Python](http://www.python.org) and the `docutils` package.
`docutils` can be installed using the commandline:
```bash
$ easy_install docutils
```
If your system has `pip`, you can use it too:
```bash
$ pip install docutils
```
## File syntax
A simple example of the file syntax:
```
.. Lines starting with two dots are special commands. But if no command can be found, the line is considered as a comment.
=========================================================
Main titles are written using equals signs over and under
=========================================================
Note that each character, including spaces, needs an equals sign above and below.
Titles also use equals signs but are only underneath
====================================================
Subtitles with dashes
---------------------
You can put text in *italic* or in **bold**, you can "mark" text as code with double backquote ``print()``.
Special characters can be escaped using a backslash, e.g. \\ or \*.
Lists are similar to Markdown, but a little more involved.
Remember to line up list symbols (like - or \*) with the left edge of the previous text block, and remember to use blank lines to separate new lists from parent lists:
- First item
- Second item
- Sub item
- Third item
or
* First item
* Second item
* Sub item
* Third item
Tables are really easy to write:
=========== ========
Country Capital
=========== ========
France Paris
Japan Tokyo
=========== ========
More complex tables can be done easily (merged columns and/or rows) but I suggest you to read the complete doc for this. :)
There are multiple ways to make links:
- By adding an underscore after a word : GitHub_ and by adding the target URL after the text (this way has the advantage of not inserting unnecessary URLs in the visible text).
- By typing a full comprehensible URL : https://github.com/ (will be automatically converted to a link).
- By making a more Markdown-like link: `GitHub <https://github.com/>`_ .
.. _GitHub: https://github.com/
```
## How to Use It
RST comes with docutils where you have `rst2html`, for example:
```bash
$ rst2html myfile.rst output.html
```
*Note : On some systems the command could be rst2html.py*
But there are more complex applications that use the RST format:
- [Pelican](http://blog.getpelican.com/), a static site generator
- [Sphinx](http://sphinx-doc.org/), a documentation generator
- and many others
## Readings
- [Official quick reference](http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/user/rst/quickref.html)
|
